Fountain brush



M. OMBRELLO FOUNTAIN BRUSH April 18, 1939.

. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Ml'kaez Omfirello Filed Oct. 8, 1938 Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN BRUSH Michael (lmbrello, New York, N. Y.

Application October 8, 1938, Serial No. 234,034

1 Claim.

This invention relates to brushes and more particularly to fountain brushes.

An object of the invention is to provide a brush so constructed as to hold soap or the like in the head or body thereof, and having means whereby the soapsuds may be distributed over the body or surface to be cleaned during the scrubbing of said body or surface.

The brush constituting the subject matter of this application involves certain new and useful improvements over the type of brush forming the subject matter of an application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial No. 202,089, filed by me under date of April 14, 1938, and entitled Fountain brush."

16 The present invention, together with its objects and advantages will be best understood from a study of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings where- Figure l is a side elevational view of a brush embodying the features of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view thereof.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the brush.

Figure a is a top plan view of the brush with the cover plate removed.

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the brush.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 66 of Figure 3.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary detail sectional view through one end of the cover plate showing a retaining element therefor and associated therewith.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail sectional view showing the manner of securing the bristles to the body or head of the brush.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a weight member.

Figure 10 is an elevational view of a roller, and

Figure 11 is an end elevational view of the roller.

Referring more in detail to the drawings it will be seen that in accordance with this invention the brush comprises a substantially rectangular, or body member 5 to one side 6 of which are secured in any conventional manner, such as through the medium of staples or other fastening elements I bristles 8.

At the top side thereof, or the side opposite to the side 6 thereof, the head or body 5 is open,

and for said open side there is provided a closure plate 9.

The body or head 5 is of hollow construction to provide a chamber I0 that accommodates a bar of soap I I.

The soap I I is in contact with the periphery of a roller I2 mounted on a shaft I3 suitably journaled within an opening I4 provided in the bristle equipped side 6 of the head or body as shown.

To maintain the soap II, as it shifts back and 5 forth within the chamber I 0, in intimate contact with the periphery of the roller I2, there is provided a weight I5.

The weight I5 as shown is in the form of a rectangular rimmed plate of metal or othersuitl0 able material fitting conformably Within a cover I6 of rubber or other suitable material provided therefor. The weight I5 accommodates Within the confines of the rim or flange thereof the bar of soap II as shown in Figure 6 and serves, as it 15 is obvious, to maintain the soap II in contact with the periphery of the roller I2.

Also to protect the opposite end walls of the chamber I0, and to deaden the sound incident to the shifting of the soap and the weight from one 20 end to the other of the head or body 5 said chamber II] at said opposite ends thereof is lined with cushioning material ll of rubber or other suitable sound-deadening material.

The bristles 8 adjacent the opening l4 accom- 5 modates the roller I2 so that the periphery of the roller is slightly inwardly from the scrubbing surface formed by the bristles 8 as shown in Figure 6. Obviously, in using the brush with the soap II within the chamber I0 contact of the 30 soap with the periphery of the roller I2 will result in the formation of suds which will be carried by the roller to the surface of the bristles 8 for application to the body being scrubbed.

From the above it will be appreciated that with 35 this invention the soap is substantially automatically applied to the bristles of the brush to the end that application of soap to the brush is obtained without thought or attention on the part of the user. Thus the necessity of employing one hand 40 for holding the brush and the other hand for holding the soap for the purpose of sc aping the brush is dispensed with.

The invention as above described is substantially identical with the invention as described 45 in my aforementioned and identified co-pending application.

However, in accordance with the present invention means is provided for positively maintaining the cake of soap II in constant contact 50 with the periphery of the roller I2 when such as desired. Such means, in the preferred embodiment thereof, is in the form of a spring I8 that at one end is anchored to the underside of the cover plate 9 as at I9. The free end of the spring 55 I8 bears, as clearly shown in Figure 6, against the covered side or exterior of the weight I5 and thus exerts a pressure on the weight and the soap bar II associated therewith for maintaining the soap bar II in constant intimate contact with the periphery of the roller I2.

Further in accordance with the present invention the cover plate 9 is provided with a fingeraccommodating opening 20 through which a finger may be inserted into the chamber ID and engaged with the spring I 8 for flexing the spring out of contact with the weight I5 thus leaving the soap bar I I and weight I5 free to shift within the confines of the chamber I0 as may be desired. Further in accordance with the present inven-' tion, instead of having the cover plate 9 in the form of a slide closure as is the case with the brush forming the subject matter of my hereinbefore identified co-pending application, said closure plate 9 is releasably held in engagement with the head or body 5 of the brush through the medium of split expansible studs 2| that have threaded shanks 22 screwed into the cover plate 9 at opposite ends of the latter.

Further, the head or body member 5 has the opposite end walls thereof provided with sockets 23 as best shown in Figure 6, to accommodate the expansible studs 2|. Obviously, to secure the closure 9 at the open side of the head or body 5 studs 2I are forced into the sockets 23 and expand within the sockets to frictionally engage the walls thereof and thereby maintain the cover plate 9 in a positive and effilcient manner on the head 5 for closing the open side of said head.

From the above it will also be apparent that in actual practice springs I8 will serve effectively for holding the soap II against the periphery of the roller I2 when the brush is held in a vertical or perpendicular position. Thus with this invention the soap is held in constant contact with the periphery of the roller I2 regardless of the position of the brush thereby insuring a constant transfer of the soap from the bar thereof to the bristles 8. v

It is thought that a clear understanding of the construction utility and advantages of a fountain brush embodying the features of the present invention will be had without a more detailed description.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

A brush of the class described comprising an open-top box-like head forming a rectangular chamber for containing a bar of soap, said chamher being larger than the bar of soap to permit movement of said bar therein from side to side thereof, and the bottom of the head having a central aperture therein for the discharge of soapsuds therethrough, bristles extending from the bottom of said head, a roller journaled in the bottom of the head, said roller extending into the chamber and supporting said bar in elevated position off said bottom, said roller depending below said bottom for engagement with the floor whereby under movement of the head back and forth said roller is caused to rotate and tend to frictionally drive said bar from side to side of said chamber, a flanged cap-like weight member fitting over said bar and forcing the same into intimate contact with said roller, a cover detachably secured to said head, and a leaf spring attached at one end to the under face of the cover at one side thereof and having a free end bearing on said weight to hold the weight and bar sta tionary against movement back and forth, said cover being provided with an aperture therein over said free end of the spring for access to said end to raise the same off said weight and release said weight and bar at will for movement back and forth.

MICHAEL OMBRELLO. 

